The controversy over whether Tottenham Hotspur supporters should or shouldn’t sing their “Yid Army” chants will come to a head tomorrow during the London derby against Chelsea at White Hart Lane.
Tottenham and Chelsea have warned supporters that the Metropolitan Police will be adopting a zero tolerance policy towards any form of abusive or offensive behavior or chanting. In particular, the police will be monitoring for anti-semitic abuse. Offenders will be ejected.
That means there’ll be no tolerance for “Yid Army” banners or chanting by the Tottenham Hotspur supporters. The Tottenham supporters, many of whom call themselves the Yid Army, will have to decide whether they’ll stand up for their principles or avoid singing their typical chants in order to avoid being ejected from the stadium and facing possible banning orders from football grounds.
Tottenham has a large Jewish following, and have been on the receiving end of abuse from football supporters for years. So many of the Tottenham fans call themselves the Yid Army, as a badge of pride, helping to diffuse the power of the word as an insult.
However, the opposition to the term Yid Army has been gathering steam lately, based largely on the campaign by Jewish soccer fan David Baddiel. The irony is that Baddiel is a Chelsea supporter. And it may be tomorrow’s match between Chelsea and Tottenham where the controversy will come to a head if Tottenham fans bring their Yid Army banners and make the Yid Army chants.
What’s your opinion? Should Tottenham Hotspur supporters stop calling themselves yids? Or should Spurs fans stand up against the authorities and use the yid nickname as a badge of honor?
